Wednesday, 20 April 2016

The death
of hope is what does the damage. The realisation that there is a metaphorical
treadmill and that we are all on it hits hard. A treadmill of underachievement:
I should say now that rather than repeating myself all references to
underachievement are in the context of achievement being commensurate with
resources, revenue, location, opportunity, ambition, tradition and reassurance
from the people that run Arsenal Football club (there that’s saved me having to
place caveats all over the place)

We were sold a dream, a dream of seeing the best players playing at the Emirates stadium and elbowing into the European elite, we were told to show patience and we were asked to dig deep into our pockets but that dream died some time ago and for some
time now I have stated that I believe that there is something rotten in the
state of Arsenal and it is my view that rot stems from two sources: The Board
of Directors and, more to the point, the current Arsenal Manager. “How so?” you
may ask. “Isn’t Arsene Wenger the greatest Arsenal Manager of all time?” No,
that accolade clearly belongs to Herbert Chapman: just asks Patrick Barclay to
elaborate on that. “Isn’t Arsene Wenger the man that gave us the Invincibles?”
Yes, but that was 12 years ago and the football landscape has changed since
then (I’ll talk more about this amazing set of players later). “ Yeah, but who
would you replace him with?” Klopp or Guardiloa spring to mind but the board
have missed the boat on those two individuals who I feel would have been a
great fit, or maybe Koeman or a number of young managers but the board have
this misguided faith in Wenger confusing income generation with competitiveness
on the pitch.

By
misguided faith I suppose that’s inaccurate. The Board have well placed faith
that while Arsene Wenger is in charge they will be well catered for in terms of
their bank balances. Obviously there is a business imperative in all
organisations but when that imperative places tangible success in football terms
second to pocket lining there is a rightful need for scrutiny and yes, outrage.

If Spurs win the league its not as if they've done a
Chelsea or Manchester City it will be because they got an inspiring young
manager and recognised the importance of defence, tempo and hard work. If the
'transitional' Liverpool & Manchester United win cups and the 'hardly spent
a penny' Leicester win the league and the 'Spent millions' Manchester City win
the ECL what will that say about the best way to do things?

Spurs are palpably on the up, Liverpool will continue
to improve, Manchester United will regroup, Chelsea will splash the cash, Manchester
City will align Guardiola’s arrival with expenditure, Leicester City can
continue to thrive if they retain their squad, West Ham will continue their
improvement under Bilic and the Arsenal? By retaining Wenger's services and
making minimal acquisitions in the summer the signs are that we will continue
to stagnate.

That astute curmudgeon Alex Ferguson recognised some
time ago that Wenger was no longer a threat and the boorish wretch Mourinho has
said, rudely, as much for a while now.

The boards are also culpable; let's not forget that.
They decided that Wenger would have autonomy

without accountability as long as
he gave them the revenue that Champions league qualification brings. The
board not having the ambition or recognition of the requirements of true
success by missing out on Klopp and Guardiola.

The board must surely be responsible for those
patronising stadium attendance announcements, setting the worlds highest ticket
prices and wringing every last penny out off the fan bases.

As for local rivalries and the significance they have
with supported

Sp*rs finishing above us for the first time in almost
two decades (half of which we have been poor) can be met with sarcasm, grudging
acceptance and 'Haley's Comet' badinage.

Sp*rs winning the league for the 1st time in 55 years
can be just about bearable with a sense of humour, but Sp*rs winning the league
aligned with our utter stagnation and realisation that we are going nowhere for
at least another year under AW's stewardship will be, frankly, vomit inducing.

I will always absolutely say that no club has a divine
right to success and trophies are few and far between for most clubs: it's all
about context. The Arsenal one could argue have been uniquely placed in terms
of potential to achieve. London, club history, stadium, revenue, fan base all
these things were in place on moving to the Emirates the promise was a place
among the elite: how so? Without an elite manager, without elite players at the
business end of the squad. Was Giroud ever going to be on the level of Aquero,
Suarez or even Kane & Sturridge for that matter?

Elite ambition has to be allied with elite level
accountability and elite solutions to inevitable problems.

There are so many questions that I have that have
never been met with a tangible and rationale response

·Why is there not more made of that
incredible 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford, or that 4-4 capitulation at Newcastle or
the countless other embarrassing and unexplained defeats that have punctuated
the last decade?·Why the Inability to invest in Elite
strikers·Has there been a worse Goalkeeping
squad than that of Almunia, Fabianski and Mannone?·Do the 70th minute substitutions
statistically have any benefit?·Can anyone justify repeated
unfathomable substitutions?·Is there a rationale to the long
list of baffling signings·Why has Wenger’s failure to win a
European trophy been so smoothly papered over by his apologists?·What was the reasoning for selling
players too early such as Silva, Pires, Campbell & Lauren?·Why would any club with ambition
sell Robin Van Persie to Manchester United by default handing them the league
title?·Why the bizarre team selections in
crunch games-dropping a red hot Arshavin against Chelsea in the cup Semi final
and playing Fabianski, playing Aliadiere in the Cup semi final against
Manchester Untied·Why is our injury record so appalling?·Why do we consistently fail to
invest in transfer windows·Why have we been knocked out of The Champions
League every time we’ve met an English Club?·Why could we not capitalize on the
1-0 at half time against Chelsea in The Champions league and progress into
possibly the poorest set of teams to reach a ECL Semi final?

Then there’s The Champions League Final of 2006
I have mentioned in the past and to an extent it represents the worst of
Wenger. Now don’t get me wrong, there is no shame in losing a cup final to Barcelona
but I don’t honestly feel that Wenger was able to rise to the occasion and
subsequently he didn’t give the team the best chance that he could. How so?
Well let me put forward my case:

·Why break up the best defensive
record in Champions League history to accommodate Ashley Cole?

·Why take off the experienced and
proven threat Robert Pires?

·Why leave the mercurial Bergkamp
& Pires on the bench rather than going for broke?

·Why did we have a second string
goalkeeper of such poverty who conceded 2 at his near post?

·What, tactically was the response o
the Barcelona equaliser.

In my view, cometh the hour Wenger did not cometh:
this is what differentiates the good from the truly great.

Another concern has to be the range of players that
Wenger has bought. For every Sanchez there has been a Gervinho, for every Ozil
a Bischoff, for every Bellerin a Santos for every Benayoun a Silvestre.
Wenger’s instance at shopping in the bargain basement has led to a plethora of
players wearing the shirt that have been both the object of derision and a
liability to the club.

When the opportunity to get Suarez presented itself (a
player who conceivably wins you the title) we dealt with is in a cack-handed
embarrassing manner. When Fabregas was available and we had first refusal
Wenger thought that he would not add anything to the team: his first half of
season stats for Chelsea were a huge factor in Chelsea’s League title.

Time and again Wenger has been intransigent when it comes
to adding proven quality to the squad. Such is his loyalty to lost causes that
he may one day take his place alongside St Jude.

God knows he’s stuck with players who clearly were on
a one-way elevator o oblivion: Denilson. Aliadiere, Bendtner, Diaby and the
like. And as for the myth about developing young players. Remember the famous
photo of the club tying down a core of British talent that were to be the
future and the core of the club? Oxlade-Chamberlaine, has he really developed?
Jenkinson, perpetually on loan, Gibbs, has place usurped by Monreal, Ramsey, is
he being used effectively? Wilshere, a victim of injuries so it’s hard to
judge, and as for Walcott, this is a player who ten years ago had the world at
his feet, he now struggles with the ball at his feet.

Arsenal fan TV sums up the worst knee-jerk
micro-celebrity viewpoint and resembles those ludicrous street interviews with
Chelsea fans a few years ago; but in reverse, this is the inevitable outcome
when a fan base are disgruntled. I find their indignant sound bites
embarrassing but they pay to attend so they have he right to expound. I guess it’s
just a symptom of what is almost a civil war of words amongst supporters who
align themselves to opposing viewpoints rather than being united in adversity.

The bottom line to all this rambling? It’s the hope
that kills you, and at he moment there is no hope of change, and change is
absolutely what is needed. But there will be no change. The strength of Arsenal
in the transitional 2015-16 season was supposedly stability but what we ended
up with was stagnation. The board probably have a statement ready to release
come Season Ticket renewal; time that speaks of ambition, desire, belief and stability
and it will all be double speak. Next season will pan out like the last ten
seasons and there will e wailing and gnashing of teeth but the emperors will
look down from their lofty heights and smirk with distain. Things wont’ get
better things wont change that treadmill will keep spinning. That’s the
unpalatable truth that deep down we all have to face, powerless and grudgingly
but that’s the truth.

I could quote Talking Heads now: The Road To Nowhere or
Same As It Ever was, but I leave the last word to Woody Allen (at least a
paraphrased Woody Allen)

“You know I think a relationship Football Club,
I think is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it
dies. And I think what we have on our hands is a dead shark.”

Views, opinions and that...

Disclaimer

No Copyright infringement is intended by the posting of images and audio-visuals. No rights are claimed of ownership. They remain the property of their respective owners. They are posted for purely entertainment purposes. All written content, unless noted as quotes, is written and copyrighted by me.